Chapter 3

The sun was shining brightly overhead, not a cloud to be seen.

How fitting, Nova mused as the wind brushed gently against her in comfort.

Maria Stark never did like dreary and depressing things, preferring to see the world in an optimistic light. It would only make sense that her funeral would be bathed in the rays of the beautiful sun as people remembered her in good memories. Nova didn't know her father very well, but she knew he would appreciate the sentiment too.

Soon enough, the funeral was over and the press left. Nova stood at the graves of her parents, Tony's hand tightly gripping her own. The two siblings stared in silence as the wind blew.

Slowly, Nova raised a hand towards the headstones. Moments later, lilacs bursted through the green grass and bloomed, weaving over the dirt that covered the coffins six feet under. Tony silently watched as the graves were painted in white, violet, and blue lilacs.

Innocence and purity for white. Spirituality for violet. Happiness and tranquility for blue. Tony didn't need Nova to speak for him to understand the message she wanted to give to their parents.

"Life is so short." Nova whispered sadly as she stared at the little garden of flowers, "But they made the most of theirs and made their mark. We will never forget them for they shall forever live on in our hearts."

Tony stayed silent, having nothing to say. The two stood there for what seemed like hours. It was just them and the sounds of nature around them. Nova closed her eyes and breathed it all in, sinking into the comforting hold of Gaia's ever present presence.

"Come live with me." Tony spoke for the first time that day.

Nova didn't ask and simply answered, "Alright."

~.~.~

"I got you the best money could buy." Tony proudly crowed as he swept his hand over the room.

Nova gripped her small bag tightly as she took in the indoor garden that made up her room. All manners of flora decorated the walls in a beautiful presentation of colors as the soothing sound of trickling water was heard from the small irrigation system that wrapped around the center floor where a queen sized bed stood. Behind the bed, framed by luscious green leaves, was a wall of glass revealing the breathtaking scene of the sea.

"You spoil me, brother." Nova mumbled as she walked down a pathway to her bed, the water system going along her right and left, splitting off towards the wall to make the shape of a square border around the soft looking bed at the center. Her room looked like it was part of a dystopian future with the way the tile seemed to sparkle from the sunlight shining through the glass.

"I don't spoil you enough." He answered evenly, "I haven't seen you in years, Nova. That makes me an asshole and you don't deserve that. You never did."

Nova turned around and smiled softly at her brother, "I do not fault you, brother. Visiting me meant going under the same roof as Father; I know why you couldn't. It is the same reason why Mother did not ask for you to come if you did not want to."

Tony violently flinched at the mention of their deceased parents before hastily pasting on a smile, "Well I still need to make it up to you."

Nova's heart broke at Tony's reaction and she couldn't help but lay a hand on his cheek, "You do not need to hide from me, brother. Never."

Gently taking his hand into her own, Nova led them to the bed before gesturing for her brother to get on, "I feel tired from the trip and I'm not yet comfortable being alone here. Won't you sleep with me just this once?"

Tony gave her a tired smile though his eyes shined in gratefulness, "Just this once."

"Just this once." Nova confirmed with a nod before tucking her brother in and cuddling to his side. If her shoulder became a bit damp and there was a soft hitch of a breath in the middle of the night, no one said anything. If her brother needed a shoulder to cry on, then that was exactly what she would offer him.

He didn't need to hide anything from her.

~.~.~

"The measuring cups are in the cabinet to your left, Miss Nova."

Nova let out a half muted shriek, leaves and vines flying around her in a half formed shield. She threw her head from side to side, holding a spatula as if it were a weapon as she tried to locate the voice, "Who are you?!"

"Apologies, I did not mean to frighten you. I am Jarvis, Sir's artificial intelligence system." The voice answered without revealing where it was coming from. It was as if he was all around her.

Nova warily stared up at the ceiling, "My brother... made you?"

"Sir is my creator, yes. I've been told to help you anyway I can, so please do not hesitate to ask." Jarvis answered kindly in a British accent.

Nova let out a long sigh, placing down the spatula she had been holding in a death grip. After a moment, she relaxed her shoulder with a hesitant smile, "Cabinet on my left, was it?"

"You are correct."

~.~.~

Tony plopped onto Nova's lap with a loud groan as he threw an arm over his eyes. She simply rose an eyebrow in question, pausing her movie to turn her attention towards her brother, "Rough day?"

"Tell me about it." Tony sighed, kicking off his designer shoes before curling against Nova and no doubt ruining his suit, "Paparazzi's been going crazy about you."

"Me?" Nova asked in surprise.

"Well duh." He smirked, "You're a Stark. Everyone's crazy about us."

"Why?" Nova mumbled in confusion.

"Well for starters, you disappeared off the face of the earth after high school in their eyes. The media's never seen you anywhere." Tony hummed, "Makes sense that they'd want to find out everything about you."

Nova shifted uncomfortably at the thought, "I… see…"

"Don't worry, lil sis." Tony blindly reached up and patted her head, "I'll deal with them. You just keep your pretty little head in here, where it's safe, kay?"

Nova smiled softly at her brother, "Thank you, Tony."

"Anything for you, sis."

~.~.~

"Who are you?"

Nova didn't react to the scathing voice that was directed at her. Instead, she focused on watering the various plants that littered the room. While Tony was wary of anything organic near his tech projects, he understood Nova's necessity with 'staying in touch with nature'. As a result, he ended up turning every room they used as living space into an indoor garden of sorts.

The only room devoid of flora was his workshop.

Nova knew better to have any of her plants in that room. Tony would sooner blow it up on accident than keep it alive. Although Nova did leave a cactus in there for safety measures. She needed some form of a defense if anything happened in there, seeing as she was effectively removed from the ground. Staying in a building stories away from the dirt was a bit discomfiting, but Nova learned to deal with it. Tony needed her more.

"Um, excuse me. I was talking to you." Tony's guest of the day raised her voice in irritation.

Nova sighed, but continued to water her azaleas, "Yes, I am aware. I just chose to ignore you."

"Who do you think you are?!" The woman growled, putting her hand on one hip.

Nova rolled her eyes and put down the watering can to stand up and properly look at the stranger, "I should be the one asking you that, seeing as you're not allowed on this floor, in just a shirt no less. How scandalous."

The blonde woman sputtered, but Nova didn't wait for an answer, "I'd suggest you leave this floor before Tony finds out and kicks you out without letting you grab your possessions."

The woman blinked in shock, "He wouldn't do that!"

"Yes, Rachel. I would."

The woman now known as Rachel whirled around to see Tony leaning casually on the doorframe. He halfheartedly waved a hand over his shoulder, "I'm feeling generous so go and get your things and leave before I call in security."

Rachel made a frustrated noise and glared at the Stark siblings before stalking off. Tony watched her go in disinterest.

Nova frowned and put a hand on her hip, "That's the third time this week, Tony."

"Sorry, sorry." He raised his hands, an easy grin on his face as he faced his sister, "I'll have Jarvis put in a security code or whatever."

The purple lobelias hanging above him in a basket reached down and smacked him across the face.

"Wha-Hey!" Tony shouted, shooting the plant a baleful glare as he rubbed his face, "I apologized, dammit."

"Not enough." Nova huffed, her emerald eyes narrowed, "I don't care about your sex life, Tony. If you're going to do it, do it in a guest room a few floors down. This house is big enough."

"Right." He sighed. Nova rolled her eyes before picking up the watering can, "You'd best get ready, brother. Miss Potts is on her way here for the meeting."

"Meeting?" He mumbled in confusion, "Who's Pott- ack! Nova, stop abusing me, dammit!"

"I'll stop when you use that brain of yours for once. Virginia Potts is the poor assistant you hired to foist all your work on. The meeting is about your new blueprints." Nova watered the last of her plants before walking over to the twenty-one year old and pushing him into the building, "Go on, get dressed. I have breakfast ready for you in the kitchen, I'm sure Jarvis will warm it up for you, right Jarvis?"

"Your breakfast will be ready for you when you arrive, sir." A British voice answered at Nova's prompting. Tony grumbled lowly, but obediently went off to his room.

Nova smiled at his departure before stretching, "Jarvis, can you start misting the greenhouse for me? I'm going to go out for a walk."

"On your own, Miss Nova?"

"It's just the beach, Jarvis. I thought the two of you would be happy about it?" Nova teased goodnaturedly as put on her hat and sunglasses. Tony had made it his personal mission to get Nova out of the house. It wasn't her fault though, she genuinely tried. It was just…to see all these towering metal buildings and concrete ground surrounding her, it was hard to get used to.

"I do not mean to offend, Miss Nova, but the last time you said you were going on a walk, you ended up cliff jumping without the proper safety gear. Sir had a panic attack when he heard of your actions." Jarvis stated.

Nova rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to get hurt."

She was stressed and needed something other than tending to her garden to deal with it. Call it cabin fever. She needed to immerse herself in the Natural Order of Life and the closest had been the ocean. Albeit... she admitted she could've planned the execution better.

"Even so."

"Alright. If I promise not to go jumping off cliffs or doing anything dangerous, will you unlock the door?" Nova asked as she stood at the entrance, hand on the immovable handle. She was answered with the audible click of the door.

"Have a safe trip, Miss Nova."

"Thank you." Nova smiled and set out towards the beach.

Reaching the shores of the beach took short work and Nova stood with her feet in the water, taking in the crashing thrums of the waves meeting the sand and the cry of the gulls flying overhead.

After a moment, Nova took off her hat and sunglasses and placed it in a pile on the sand with her phone hidden underneath. Taking long strides, Nova dove into the pleasantly cool waves before anyone around her recognized her face.

Gaia rushed to meet her, pressing Her presence into Nova's body until the strain on her lungs eased to nothing. Nova laughed in joy, breathing in the water like it was air. She hadn't done this in so long. She felt so free underneath the waves.

"Come child."

Nova didn't need Gaia's prompting to bend the seawater around her and propel forwards. The twenty year old gracefully glided through the sea, her flowing blue dress trailing behind her like tail fins. Her bright green eyes took in the beautiful sight of the coral beds and fish swimming leisurely about.

She spotted a familiar calico bass and happily swam over, "Leo! I haven't seen you since I went cliff diving two weeks ago."

The large fish whirled around and flittered around her frantically. Nova frowned worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Flashes of a large shadow on the surface connected to an invisible force and a shiny object stuck in a sting ray entered her mind. Leo bumped into her chest once before quickly swimming off towards the kelp forest. Nova blinked in confusion before sharply looking up. Just above her, a rather small sea creature was thrashing about, letting loose a cloud of blood.

Nova gasped in shock when she realized that it was caught by a line, the source coming from a kayak a couple meters away. She immediately shot forward to help the poor animal. Swiftly, she wrapped her arm around the sting ray and held it as still as she could in its mindless struggle for freedom. With a grunt, Nova did her best to cleanly remove the metal hook and the moment she let go, the fish was already far off in the distance.

With an irritated huff, Nova shot the kayak a glare and roughly yanked the line she was still holding back. She could only gape as the kayak immediately tipped over, depositing it's occupant into the ocean. She hadn't pulled that hard, did she?!

She stared as the man thrashed around not unlike the fish he had almost caught. It took a minute for her to process that fact that she had just upended a man and all his supplies into the water and that he might not be able to retrieve them anytime soon. It took a another minute for her to realize that said man was still underwater, having yet to resurface when he was supposed to. Another painfully long minute passed before it finally registered that she should probably do something about that.

The man's movement slowed before stopping completely as a red cloud surrounded him.

Nova's eyes widened. Yeah, she definitely had to do something about that.

Shooting forward in a burst of water, Nova made it to his side within seconds. Her eyes observed him critically before realizing that his fishing line had wrapped around his neck and that he had been struggling to free himself.

With neat precision, Nova removed the obstacle and swiftly dragged his body to the surface. The moment they broke the water, the man was gasping for air, coughing all the while.

She ignored him as she pulled them to his upturned kayak. A quick maneuver had the kayak righted and the man sprawled on top of it. Nova made sure he was secure enough not to fall off again before she backed off.

Hesitantly, she spoke, "Warn the people that a shark may be near soon enough. You've lost a lot of blood from that cut."

Before he could turn around and see her face, Nova submerged herself and manipulated the water into pushing the man back to shore at a steady pace. After a moment of silence, Nova breathed out a long sigh and tiredly rubbed her eyes.

Of course something bad would happen when she felt relaxed. Just her luck.

Shaking her head, Nova swam back to the shore, much more subdued that before. Ignoring the strange looks shot at her when she emerged from the waves with her dress clinging to her body, Nova put on her hat and sunglasses and quickly walked off.

Seconds later, her phone rang.

Before she could say so much as a 'hello', Tony's voice spoke in obvious irritation.

"Mind telling me why Jarvis just told me that you spent the better of an hour roughly fifty meters away from any form of land? And don't lie about renting a boat. I keep track of your card."

Nova's eyebrow twitched, "Where was it this time? I left my phone at the beach."

"In your bracelet." Tony easily answered as if he wasn't sticking tracking chips into his sister's belongings without her consent, "Changing the subject, by the way. Is there something you should be telling me, dear sister of mine? Botanokinesis doesn't let you stay underwater for sixty whole minutes without drowning."

Nova rolled her eyes, "I never said I had botanokinesis. You just labeled it that."

"Still off topic, Nova. I know you told me that you're 'connected to the Earth' or whatever, but that doesn't exactly tell me anything." Tony sighed heavily. The both of them ignored the muffled sound of metal screeching against metal in the background, "All I know is that your genetic code has the x-gene and your biolo- ugh, you already know. I've got nothing but the fact that you can go without eating for weeks with just the sun and some water and you control plants. Come on, Nova. Help me out a little here."

Nova quietly contemplated her answer as she walked up the stairway and entered the backdoor of their house. As she walked, she picked up a packet of seeds and a pot of fertilized soil she had yet to use. She hung up the phone as she entered her brother's workshop, Tony waiting expectantly on his chair.

"I guess you can loosely call me an elementalist. Loosely." Was the first thing she said as she set her things on the table in front of her older brother, "I can manipulate whatever Gaia allows me to without the aid of a medium. Of course, I can easily lose that ability if I lose her favor."

Tony opened his mouth, but a pointed stare had him closing it again. Nova opened the packet of seeds and gently planted them into the soil, "Of the four, the easiest to control is the earth and water."

Tony observed with rapt attention as Nova moved her hand away from her body and the water from her drenched dress followed. The large orb of water sat on her hand, leaving her clothes completely dry. Silently, Nova held out another hand and the ball split in half, leaving an orb in each hand.

"Most of the time, I use my ability to garden. Don't question me, Tony, I can see it in your face. Life is a beautiful thing and helping plants grow to their full potential is a joyous feeling. Of course, you wouldn't know that. You're more attuned to metal and fire." Nova smiled teasingly at her brother as one of the orbs descended from her hand and sank into the soil. She held out an index finger and repeatedly made a circular motion above the pot.

"I manipulate the soil and water in a process where I can increase any plant's growth rate exponentially. Since the plant is the product of my elements, I can also control it to an extent."

Within seconds, buds poked through the surface and grew until all they saw was a bush of lilacs. Tony blinked slowly as he stared curiously at the plant, "... How about wind and fire?"

Nova shrugged before flicking her wrist. Before Tony could react, the remaining water orb flew through the air and splashed against Tony's face. The man sputtered in shock, his eyes wide and accusing, "Wha-?!"

"For messing with my things without asking." Nova smirked, placing her bracelet on the desk before leaving the room, "Miss Potts is at the door, by the way."

Tony groaned.

~.~.~

"I honestly thought he would be different!"

"Mmhm." Nova absentmindedly answered for the fiftieth time as she checked to make sure every seed was perfectly sewn. She had another batch to finish before she went to trim the rose bushes.

"I was aware of his unfavorable social life, but I had assumed he'd be different when he was working, you know?"

"Uhuh." Nova nodded, her eyes set on the basket next to the ginger, "Can you pass me the green packet, Miss Potts?"

"Call me Virginia." Virginia Potts paused for a second to hand Nova the bag before continuing on with her rant, "Anyways, he's either always late to his scheduled meeting or he doesn't come at all! Who does that? Especially when they're the ones who scheduled the meeting in the first place!"

"Sounds about right." Nova mumbled as she evenly dispersed the gardenia seeds. Maybe she'd leave the rose bushes for tomorrow. She needed to order everything else into neat places or Tony would start complaining that it was a jungle again.

"I just don't get what's going through that mind of his. He's so brilliant, but his actions are… not. He's so frustrating at times. How do you do it?"

Nova blinked in surprise when blue eyes were suddenly trained on her, wide and expectant. Flailing for a moment, Nova panicked to answer the question she hadn't even paid attention to for the past hour the woman had been there, "... go with the flow?"

The primly dressed woman slumped with a heavy sigh, "I guess it's a losing battle. I can't change how Stark works, no matter how hard I try."

Realizing what was going on, Nova nudged the forlorn woman with her shoulder since her hands were covered in dirt, "Not exactly what I meant. I like to imagine Tony as a river, strong and powerful and determined to get where he needs to go. Going against the current would only cause you to be swept away."

"Then what do I do?" The defeated woman asked.

Nova smiled, "Think ahead, Potts. You're a smart woman. If you can't stop a rushing river, what do you do?"

Her brows furrowed in thought before her blue eyes brightened with determination, "Redirect it! I know what to do now."

Nova nodded in approval before twisting her body to reach a particularly small potted plant. Virginia stared in pleasant surprise when Nova placed the pot of white lilacs in her hands.

The younger Stark spared the woman an encouraging smile, "Good luck."

Nova assumed nothing else was needed of her and promptly left the room to go to the greenhouse on the roof. She'd ended up trimming the rose bushes anyways. Tony would be too preoccupied by whatever Virginia was planning to complain.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Nova?"

"Can you key Miss Potts into the system? Even Tony's workshop, though make sure it's reasonably safe before letting her enter."

"Of course, Miss Nova."

"Thank you."

~.~.~

Nova frowned in irritation.

The man she had basically drowned before saving kept on coming to her spot on the ocean floor. Everyday, he would never fail to come and start diving around for hours on end. Why was he doing that? What purpose did it serve?

Was it because of his lost equipment?

Nova blinked for a moment. Yeah, that was probably it. The tools must have been expensive or something. She knew where the things were, but she faced a problem. How would she return it to him without showing her face? She couldn't risk asking any of the fish. The man might capture them like last time.

After a moment of contemplation, an idea struck her. Holding out her hand in a beckoning motion towards the kelp forest, she called a few forth. Slowly, the kelp weaved through the water and carefully wrapped around the metal box only a few feet away.

Nova hesitated for a moment before motioning her hand forward. Answering her silent command, the aquatic plant rose with the box secured in its grasp. The man immediately latched onto the movement and cried out in shock.

Bubbles of air rushed out of him and Nova watched in amusement as he was forced to resurface for a minute before frantically diving down once more. Hesitantly, the blonde haired man swam towards the kelp, but did nothing else.

Nova sighed when he proceeded to just stare from a meter away. With a flick of a wrist, the kelp shot forward, clumsily deposited the tool box into his frightened arms, and quickly retreated back into the kelp forest.

The man didn't have time to react before he was once again forced to resurface. Nova smiled with a satisfied nod and a pat on the back before turning away and swimming off.

That should solve the problem.

~.~.~

The second she touched her phone at the sandy shores of the beach, it rang it's obnoxiously loud ringtone that Tony had set for himself. The brunette stared at the piece of technology for a long moment, wondering why this felt so familiar. Oh right. Cause it did happen. Just like now, actually.

Nova took in a deep breath and steeled herself before answering the call with a dry, "What?"

"So we need to have talk about you going off to meet random guys in some secret place without telling me under the excuse of taking a walk." Tony commented in a deceptively calm voice, "And your strange way of flirting."

Nova let out a long, drawn out sigh of exasperation, "You installed cameras from the location you got the last time you tracked me, didn't you?"

"Yep." Tony cheerfully popped the 'p', "Exactly how long has this been happening?"

"What has?"

"Don't play coy with me, lil sis." Tony admonished lightly, "Since when did you even notice the existence of the opposite sex?"

"Since when did you care?" Nova retorted as she walked off, "Contrary to your beliefs, brother, I'm not stupid when it comes to social interaction. I was simply helping him. He needed his tools."

"No, Nova." Tony said, his suddenly seriousness throwing her off, "He knew where that box was. He's known for a week now. He's been diving for something else. Looking for you I presume."

Nova froze for a second before quickening her pace, "Has he seen me?"

"Not that I know of." Her brother sighed heavily, "I've run a background check on him already. Man's okay on record. Unfortunately, he's been telling his friends he found his very own Ariel."

Nova grimaced as she skillfully dodged the media at the front and snuck into the garage of the house, "Not good."

Tony's scoff could be heard over the phone, "You're telling me. On the bright side, he hasn't seen you. Only heard your 'sweet, angelic voice that embodies the beauty of the waves'. Not exaggerating, by the way. Said it word for word. Should totally avoid a creep like that."

Nova sighed, "Don't do anything to him, Tony. It's my fault anyways."

"What? I didn't say I was going to hurt him!"

"Tony." Nova said warningly.

There was a short pause before he groaned, "Fine. Fine. I won't bankrupt him to the point of poverty to silence him."

"Thank you."

"Yeah whatever. Gotta go, Pepper's found me."

"Pepper? Are you… hiding?"

"Yes, my lovely assistant, Nova; keep up. And no. I'm just… taking a break… away from her."

"Tony!"

"Bye!"